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A quiet lane between white earthen walls and stone walls in the samurai district of Hagi

Castle town

Hagi

Hagi was the capital of the powerful Mori clan for more than 250 years. Its old streets of white earthen walls, samurai gates and summer orange trees have changed little, and it was the home of many of the young samurai who helped bring down the shogunate and build modern Japan in the 1860s. Five sites in Hagi are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Why visit

After losing the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the Mori clan were forced to move their capital to this remote spot on the Sea of Japan. For more than two centuries, the town grew into a centre of learning and crafts. In the 1850s, a young teacher called Yoshida Shoin ran a small private school here, and his students included future leaders such as Ito Hirobumi, Japan’s first prime minister. Today Hagi is a quiet, charming town that is best explored slowly, on foot or by bicycle.

What to see

  • Horiuchi: the old samurai district inside the castle moat, with long white walls, gates and summer orange trees peeping over them.
  • Hagi Castle ruins: the stone walls and moat of the Mori castle at the foot of Mount Shizuki, beside the sea.
  • The old merchant quarter: the lanes of Jokamachi, with the Kikuya merchant house and the birthplaces of Kido Takayoshi and Takasugi Shinsaku.
  • Shoka Sonjuku: the tiny wooden school of Yoshida Shoin, now in the grounds of Shoin Shrine and part of the World Heritage Site.
  • Hagi ware: soft, glazed pottery prized by tea masters, which slowly changes colour as it is used. Visit a kiln or gallery.
The small wooden school building of Shoka Sonjuku under trees
Shoka Sonjuku, the small school of Yoshida Shoin.

Food

Hagi is known for fresh fish from the Sea of Japan, especially squid and sea bream, and for natsumikan, a sharp summer orange made into sweets, juice and ice cream. Read our guide to a day in Hagi.

Tips

  • Rent a bicycle at the station or in town: the sights are spread out but the town is flat.
  • Hagi has no shinkansen station. Take the express bus from Shin-Yamaguchi, or drive.
  • Stay a night to enjoy the town in the quiet evening, and visit Motonosumi Shrine the next day.
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